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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28482762">Through his eyes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlllureOfDarkness/pseuds/AlllureOfDarkness'>AlllureOfDarkness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Vampire Diaries (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cannon, F/M, Rewrite</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:40:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,684</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28482762</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlllureOfDarkness/pseuds/AlllureOfDarkness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of Klaus and Caroline, from Klaus POV.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I've got my vampire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Klaus Mikaelson would like to tell you about the first time he met Caroline Forbes. He would like to tell you it was a magical experience, that it was love at first sight and they were married by the end of the year. He would like to tell you in immense detail how they met in a coffee shop and caught each other's eye as they both tried to claim the last chocolate brownie. He'd like to tell you how they'd agreed to share a table and split the sweet treat, and their love had blossomed from there.</p><p>Klaus Mikaelson would like to tell you all these things, but none of it would be true.</p><p>Because in truth, the first time Klaus Mikaelson saw Caroline Forbes he was planning to kill her.</p><p>It was late afternoon, and it had been a long day, both physically and emotionally. He and his compelled minions had been putting the final pieces together for the sacrifice, and although things were going well there were still problems popping up at every step. Elena, the latest Petrova doppelganger of his first love, Tatia and the Salvatore brothers had been trying this and that to prevent him from killing her. None of it would work of course, but that didn't make it any less irritating. He didn't like being watched and right now Petrova 3 and her boyfriends were watching his every move, even mundane tasks like fetching his morning coffee were flagged by a witch or a werewolf trying to protect Elena.</p><p>He flung his coat onto the kitchen counter and made his way across the room. Katerina, or Katherine as she was now calling herself, watched him move with contempt and hatred in her eyes. He'd ordered her to be quiet and her compulsion stopped her from disobeying. Tucked away in a corner, pawing at some fashion magazine left behind by the previous tenants, she was easy enough to ignore. The only reason he hadn't killed her yet was because he thought she might be useful. He suspected his brother, Elijah still harboured some feelings for her and once he unlocked his werewolf side he needed the leverage of her life to draw him in. There was no doubt he would kill her eventually, but for now, she was basically furniture to him.</p><p>Klaus sat down on the sofa and stretched, his mind on the sacrifice. He had plans for the future, a hybrid army, a dead father, a home for his siblings. It all seemed so far away now, and he had waited for it for so long. To have a home, a family. He could almost taste it.</p><p>June, one of his vampire assistants, sat on the sofa next to him, a tablet in her pale hands.</p><p>"Jared picked this up in the town square," she said, passing him the device. "She'll be the vampire in the sacrifice."</p><p>He was about to dismiss her without even a glance at the screen. It made no difference to him what she looked like, who she was, whether she knew she was going to die or not.</p><p>But something in him told him to look, so he did. In a damp dusty basement somewhere in Mystic Falls a vampire was chained up to a wall. It was dark in the room, and it was hard for him to make out all her features, but she was obviously very pretty. Blonde, thick curly hair, big blue eyes, a toned body.</p><p>She was the sort of girl he might have picked up in a bar for a bit of fun. Such a shame a pretty thing would have to die so soon.</p><p>Ah well. Pretty girls were a dime a dozen.</p><p>He glanced at June as she moved the tablet away. He didn't want to praise her. Rarely did he praise anyone. Better to keep them on their toes so they didn't dare try and betray him. "Now get me a wolf."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. He'll die anyway, love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Klaus did not think of the blonde girl in the cage once in the months following the sacrifice. When he was lonely at night, clutching his blanket around his body like the warm embrace of a hug, her face did not come to his mind. She had been nothing but the girl he had intended to sacrifice who had escaped before her death. He had swiftly replaced her with another, equally as pretty girl. Jenna, Elena's aunt. That one stood out in his mind, because she had meant something to the Doppelgänger. He made sure to keep an eye on the loved ones of those he wanted to hurt.</p><p>But it wasn't long after Klaus returned to Mystic Falls that he came face to face with Caroline Forbes for the first time.</p><p>It wasn't as romantic as he would like to tell you.</p><p>It was late afternoon, the sun had set and Klaus was strolling around the high school, excited and agitated all at once. He'd been working all day, sending emails, filing paperwork, contacting dead witches, the usual, evil mastermind stuff. But he was almost done. Just a few more things to do and he could clock out for the night. A compelled companion and a bottle of champagne and he could celebrate a good work day in the only way he knew how – blood, sex and murder.</p><p>He had all he needed to make his first hybrid – a broken curse, Doppelgänger blood and a dead werewolf. Tyler Lockwood was currently in a classroom, his broken body guarded by Klaus' sister Rebekah. Tyler was one of Elena's friends, a local youth, son of the mayor and the school quarterback. There was trophies, pictures of him in his uniform in a glass cabinet in the school corridor. Klaus surveyed the pictures whilst he waited for the boy to wake up. Besides Tyler's framed Quarterback photo, there was a picture of three girls, cheerleaders according to the plaque, doing some sort of charity car wash event. Klaus recognised Bonnie Bennett, the annoying witch who had tried to kill him multiple times, Elena, the Doppelgänger Klaus had killed and besides them a blonde girl with a pretty smile. She looked familiar, but he couldn't remember if they'd met before. He wondered if he'd killed her and forgotten about it.</p><p>As he was thinking about his recent kills to try and place the girls face he heard a deep throaty gasp as Tyler woke up. A smile crept onto Klaus' lips as the young boy spluttered and coughed, gasping for air. Someone, a girl by the sound of things, was soothing him as Rebekah laughed on.</p><p>"What happened?" Tyler said. Klaus turned away from the trophy case and began walking towards the voices. He imagined the boy looking around widely, trying to figure what had happened to him. It amused him. Soon he would arrive and make it all better. No longer would he be cursed to turn every full moon. No longer would he suffer immense pain. He would be stronger, faster. He would thank Klaus. Maybe not today, but one day he would.</p><p>"Don't be shy about it." Rebekah teased.</p><p>There was more back and forth teasing, especially between Rebekah and the girl. Klaus didn't know who she was, but by the sound of it she was Tyler's girlfriend, or sister or close friend or something. Someone that cared about him and was sticking around to make sure he was okay. Someone he would have to kill if she got in the way.</p><p>With a vial of Elena's precious Doppelgänger blood in his hand, Klaus headed into the science classroom.</p><p>"Well the verdicts in," he glanced over his sister, she was sat on top of a desk, not looking out of place amongst the two teenagers in the room. She had been turned at only 17 after all. "The original witch says the Doppelganger should be dead."</p><p>The blonde girl glanced at him as he walked in. He looked over at her briefly, recognising her as the blonde cheerleader from the photo. Cheerleader, Quarterback, yep definitely his girlfriend.</p><p>Although he looked away, he could still feel the girls eyes lingering on him, probably with hate he was not unused to attracting. He couldn't imagine why.</p><p>His eyes rested on Tyler, the object of his current obsession. He was fit, young, healthy, probably charismatic and well liked. The perfect fit for his first fully functioning hybrid.</p><p>"Does that mean we can kill her?" Rebekah asked, a small smile pulling at her lips as she walked to stand in front of him. He could see her fingers twitching at her side with an eagerness. Oh how he hated to let her down.</p><p>But the original witch hated him. He didn't trust anything she said. She had told him Elena had to be dead so he could create hybrids. But she was lying. Klaus knew she'd never tell him the truth.</p><p>"No I'm fairly certain it means the opposite," he glanced then at the blonde girl. A vampire, for sure. Around 18 maybe, and probably actually 18 judging by how naïve she looked. She was staring at him with an intense hatred he was used to from Elena's school friends. He realised for a quick moment he had seen her before, a moment in the past perhaps during one of Elena's many attempts to end his life she must've been there.</p><p>He nodded at Rebekah who grabbed the girls arms and pulled her back, leaving a clear path for Klaus to get to Tyler.</p><p>"Call it a hunch," he said, turning to Tyler. The boy's body was shaking and twisting as the werewolf side tried to fight off the vampire blood in its system. His head was turned away from Klaus, towards his girlfriend. Klaus hoped she wouldn't become a problem, or he'd have her killed. Then he'd probably have to deal with a whiney hybrid crying about his dead girlfriend. That would be annoying.</p><p>He waved the vial of Elena's blood in front of Tyler's face.</p><p>"Elena's blood," he said, in case it wasn't obvious what he was holding. Tyler raised his eyes and Klaus locked onto them. "Drink it."</p><p>"No no no no, Tyler don't!" Protested the girlfriend, pulling against Rebekah's tight grip. She was strong, but Rebekah was stronger.</p><p>Klaus glanced at the girl. Her eyes were on Tyler now, wide and full of concern. Interestingly, the girl did not try and attack him or her sister, she did not even look at him when he looked at her. Her eyes stayed on Tyler, her body turned towards him the entire time. She wanted to be with him. To help him through the pain. She had no interest in trying to kill Klaus, or save herself. She only had eyes for the boy.</p><p>"If he doesn't feed he'll die anyway, love," he said, turning back to the boy. He lowered himself down to Tyler's level. "Consider this an experiment."</p><p>Tyler let out a small cry. His face was wet, a mixture of tears and sweat painted across his red face.</p><p>"It's okay," he said softly. He was just a boy after all. And he wanted to assure him that as long as he did what was asked of him no harm would come to him or anyone he loved, including his pretty little girlfriend. He'd have to do some research on her. Girlfriends were always a good target if you wanted to punish someone.</p><p>And if Tyler stepped out of line, he would be punished.</p><p>Fight as he might Tyler moved upwards and took the vial of blood from Klaus' hand.</p><p>Though he wanted to smile, Klaus kept himself steady. He didn't want to chance Tyler noticing his glee and refusing to drink. He didn't know why, but a part of him wanted him to want this. To want to be a hybrid. To want to be part of his army.</p><p>"There we go," he whispered.</p><p>Tyler moved the vial to his lips and downed the contents in one swift motion.</p><p>Now Klaus allowed himself to smile. There was no going back now.</p><p>"Good boy," he said, like a master praising his pet, which is of course, what Tyler would soon be to him. His hybrid pet.</p><p>The quarterback began to heave, spit and splutter. Klaus backed away, the smile slipping from his face as blood began to ooze out of Tyler's mouth.</p><p>The boy legs collapsed, his back arched back and his flailing arms sent an army of glass beakers cascading across the floor. The girlfriend screamed and tried to free herself from Rebekah's arms as Klaus stood, overlooking the whole thing, waiting. A small panic grew in Klaus' chest. What if it didn't work? If Tyler died, if this was all a failure, what could he do? He'd exhausted all options at this point. If Elena's blood didn't make Tyler into a hybrid, nothing would.</p><p>Tyler rolled around the floor, blood seeping out through his teeth, screaming out in pain.</p><p>Klaus crouched down next to the screaming boy, who grabbed his head in some feeble attempt to keep the pain away. Klaus couldn't imagine how much pain he was in and he'd been tortured many many times in his life. He watched intently, worried for just a moment he would die. That he would've failed again. That this would have had all been for nothing.</p><p>If that happened someone would have to pay.</p><p>Just when Klaus thought everything was lost the boys eyes shot open, revealing the deep yellow pupils of a fully functioning hybrid.</p><p>Klaus smiled, his eyes locked with the boys. "Now that's a good sign."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Pretty Little Girlfriend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The third time Klaus saw Caroline just so happened to be the best day of his life. It was the day he finally put an end to his father's existence.</p><p>Upon his orders Tyler Lockwood, his first successful hybrid and current favourite minion, had gone into the high school and ripped the boiler out of the basement, flooding the school gym. The school party had been cancelled, and Tyler, in a moment of true heroism, had offered to host it in his own home.</p><p>Klaus didn't care much for a stupid high school party, but he wanted to celebrate his father's death and the celebration just happened to fall on the same date. Why waste a perfectly good audience to a cramped sports hall when there was an empty mansion right there?</p><p>Of course he'd taken some liberties like compelling the cops to turn a blind eye, bribing a semi-famous band into playing for them and inviting a couple hundred extra people. What could he say? He liked to entertain.</p><p>The band played loud punk pop music on the makeshift stage, back lit by red lights and huge speakers. They weren't his taste, but he knew from his sisters research that they were popular among Tyler's age group and the guests seemed to be enjoying their singing.</p><p>Klaus watched the people dance as his way slowly down the steps, Tyler by his side. His pet hybrid had become quite a loyal companion in the few weeks since his transition. Of course he was not without his difficulties, minions never were, but he'd had worst companions.</p><p>"My mum would seriously freak if she saw all these people here," Tyler said. Klaus could see him swallow, already fearing his mother's wrath.</p><p>Klaus laughed. Such a small thing, to be scared of one's mother. It reminded him that Tyler really was so very young. "Your mother won't be a problem," he said. "I compelled her to go to church and pray for your friends." As well as half the police force and anyone else that might be a problem.</p><p>Tyler let out a wheezy awkward laugh. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion.</p><p>Klaus moved to stand in front of Tyler.</p><p>"I want you to look around," he whispered. "There's Bonnie."</p><p>Tyler turned to look at his witch friend. The young Bennett came from a long line of witches, dating back to Ayana, his mother Esther's friend. She had tried to kill Klaus many times. Once she had almost succeeded. He had originally planned on killing her on his return to mystic falls, but she was so unusually strong that he felt compelled to keep her alive. If he could ever get her on his side she would prove to be a valuable ally.</p><p>Klaus moved away from the Bennett witch, to the Doppelgänger and Tyler's best friend, "There's Elena and Matt."</p><p>Tyler looked on, his eyes settling on his friends as they shared a beer.</p><p>Finally Klaus eyes settled on Tyler's girlfriend. She wasn't hard to find. She stood out from the crowd like a rose in a field of weeds. Her smile was addictive, lighting up the faces of all those around her.</p><p>"And there's your pretty little girlfriend, Caroline."</p><p>She was pretty, really pretty. His eyes lingered on her for a moment more than the others. With Tyler being his new pet he'd done research on his friends and family. He always did with new minions, so he could find out how to best hurt them if they needed punishing.</p><p>But during his research, he'd taken a particular interest in her for reasons he couldn't quite understand. Not just because she was Tyler's girlfriend, although that was how it started. There was something about her that intrigued him more than anyone else had in a very long time. She was the daughter of the sheriff and an absent father. She was part of many comities, a cheerleader with an apparent talent for planning parties. He would never admit it, but when planning this one he'd paid special attention to little things he didn't normally care for, in the hope she would notice.</p><p>He didn't know why he hoped she would notice him.</p><p>Klaus showed Tyler he was prepared – he had a small army of hybrids ready to attack if anyone should try and harm him, and then he went on his way, leaving the boy to grovel and worry.</p><p>As Klaus drifted through the party he found himself looking for her in the crowd. Caroline wore a tight silky pink dress and her was perfectly curled, as always. She was laughing and smiling with her friend with Tyler came, grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear. They disappeared together and Klaus turned away, distracting his thoughts. He had more important things to worry about. He was a 1000 year old hybrid for god's sake, he shouldn't be wondering around a party trying to catch the eye of a pretty girl like a lovesick teenager. She was just a girl.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. I need you to bite her</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bite her</p><p>Everybody makes mistakes. Klaus Mikaelson just happened to make about a billion more of them than anyone else. He would like to chalk it up to being an old man, but in reality it was probably because he was starved of any positive human contact. Klaus had had very few people in his life try and guide him, Elijah, Rebekah, his mother, to name a few. They had all either betrayed him or died, and their words of positive encouragement had fallen on death ears.</p><p>It was October 10th, and Klaus was embarrassed to admit he knew today was Caroline Forbes birthday. During his research into Tyler Lockwood he'd kept note of certain dates in his life that might prove to be a problem, his parents wedding anniversary, his father's death, his high school graduation, his girlfriend's birthday. That one had stood out in his mind and he'd absentmindedly marked it on the calendar in his phone.</p><p>As he stood in the dusty workshop that was to be his home his mind kept wondering to her face, her golden curls, her blue eyes, her addicting smile. It had been over a month since Klaus had last seen her and he already felt the withdrawal. He missed her, although they'd never even had a real conversation.</p><p>He wondered how she was celebrating her birthday. Were her friends taking her out for dinner? Were they throwing her a party? He hoped they were doing something special. It was her 18th, an important birthday and her first since she turned into a vampire.</p><p>The first birthday was always the hardest. The revelation that you were never going to get older was a punch to the system. He'd only been 22 when he'd turned, and although he'd never really cared for his birthday before, waking up at 23 realising he would always be 22 had had a pronounced effect on him. He would never be an old man, never have children. He would be 22 forever. Once that had scared him. It no longer did.</p><p>It had been a rough morning. Stefan had made demands from him that he had no authority making. He had commanded Klaus withdraw his hybrids from Mystic Falls, and when he'd refused Stefan had threatened to withhold the coffins containing Klaus' siblings from him indefinitely. Then as an extra nail in the coffin he'd murdered one of Klaus' hybrids in front of him.</p><p>Klaus didn't have many hybrids, and although he had a way to create more, that supply was not infinite. One day Elena would die of old age, and then he would be out of hybrids until the next Doppelganger appeared, which could be another 500 years if the previous two were anything to go by. Hybrids were rare and precious, even one dying was a huge loss.</p><p>Stefan needed to be punished for his crimes. So after some thought he'd beckoned Tyler to come over with a text. He was a busy man and he didn't have time to dish out individual punishments. Luckily he had a hybrid pet with inside knowledge of Stefan's friends group to do it for him.</p><p>Daniel, one of his hybrid, lifted up Mindy's decapitated head a in bag, blood dripped from the sack onto the hardwood floor. Klaus looked up from his workbench, her face fading from his mind.</p><p>"What do you want me to do with her head?" He asked, a little too gleefully.</p><p>Klaus sighed, putting down the piece of wood he'd been sanding down.</p><p>"Just get rid of it," he said quietly. "Burn it," he raised his head. "I honestly don't care Daniel."</p><p>Daniel turned away, swinging the head by his side as he left the room. Klaus groaned internally. What was the point of having a hybrid army if they couldn't do simple tasks like burying a body without his word? What on earth would he want the head for? A keepsake? He knew he was morbid, but even he didn't keep decapitated heads around the house.</p><p>Tyler stepped into the room, sighing deeply with the dissatisfaction Klaus was used to. Would the boy ever be happy to see his master? Probably not.</p><p>"You called," he said. "I'm here." He paused, his eyes going to the fresh blood painted across the floor and walls. "What happened?"</p><p>Klaus stepped away from the table. "What happened is Stefan had two paths in front of him and he chose the one that made me angry," he said. "I need you to help me do something about that."</p><p>He slumped back, annoyance and disinterested on his face. "Can't you just leave me out of it?"</p><p>If Klaus was not in such a sour mood, he might have laughed. "What would be the point in that?" Did he think he turned him for fun? As a joke? It was his job. What was the point of turning the kid in the first place if he wasn't going to work?</p><p>"Seriously man, can't you just get one of your other hybrids to do your bidding?" he sighed. Klaus glared. "I lost my friends, my girlfriend-"</p><p>"Right," he cut him off. Girlfriend. That word stung. Her face moved to the front of her mind and he couldn't help but smile. Tyler was a good looking guy, but Caroline's beauty far outshone him. He never understood why she was with him.</p><p>"Your… your girlfriend," he looked down and took a step towards Tyler. "I need you to bite her."</p><p>"What?" Tyler asked, his whiny demeanour instantly gone. Surprise was plastered across his face. Klaus had never had him hurt his friends before. Up until this point there'd been no need.</p><p>"Don't make me repeat myself." Klaus warned sternly. He was not in the mood to deal with one of Tyler's fits.</p><p>"A hybrid bite will kill a vampire."</p><p>"I know exactly what it will do," he glanced at the blood and for a moment he wondered if he were making the right decision. Hurting the girl to get close to her? Was it manipulative? Definitely. Did he care? No.</p><p>"Stefan pushed me too far, so I'm pushing back," he said.</p><p>"I'm not biting Caroline!" Tyler said.</p><p>Klaus hid his smile and he resisted the urge to laugh. "Tyler," he looked up at him. "I've been supernaturally blessed with the good fortune of a sire bond to you, so one could consider this is me putting your undying loyalty to the test."</p><p>Tyler closed the space between them, getting as close to his master as he could without physically touching him. He was squaring Klaus up, trying to intimidate him. Or make him see reason. He wasn't sure which.</p><p>"What the hell is wrong with you?" He was close enough that Klaus could feel Tyler's breath on his face. "I'm not hurting Caroline."</p><p>Although he said it Klaus had to only look into his eyes to know he would do it. It wasn't compulsion, Klaus wasn't forcing him to do anything. The hybrid part of him wanted to obey. Klaus could tell him to murder his own mother and he would do it, because the sire bond wanted to.</p><p>In truth, he felt bad about doing it today. It was her birthday after all. A special day for someone so recently turned. After a thousand years, birthdays become trivial. He hadn't celebrated his in nearly a century. When Rebekah had been by his side they'd shared a drink and she'd wished him a happy birthday and that had been it. Nowadays he didn't even do that.</p><p>But birthdays were special to Caroline, he'd heard. And although he shouldn't, he felt bad about doing it today.</p><p>"Alright, alright," he dropped his hands casually to the side and turned away from Tyler, his mind already on the next task. "I'm disappointed, but you know it's your choice, free will and all that. I'll find another way to strike at Stefan."</p><p>Tyler stared at Klaus, waiting.</p><p>Klaus raised his eyebrows. "You can go now."</p><p>What Tyler didn't know was that without his want or not, he would bite Caroline. What he also didn't know was that Klaus had no intentions of letting her die.</p><p>Was it a dumb decision he was making? Probably. But his intentions had matched up perfect. Stefan needed to be punished for his indiscretions. He couldn't hurt Elena or Tyler and he was perfectly bored of torturing Damon all the time. That left Bonnie, Matt or Caroline. Those were the people he cared about the most, the people he would morn for if they died.</p><p>Ever since he unofficially met Caroline in the science classroom the night Tyler Lockwood had become his first useful hybrid, she had been on his mind nonstop. They exchanged few words that day, and he was wondering when he would steal the chance to have an actual conversation with her.</p><p>He had hoped them on the occasions he beckoned Tyler to him he might bring her along. Stupidly, he had even made an extra effort in his appearance on the days Tyler came, in case she was there. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that she'd show up, see he'd made an effort and come running into his arms. He just wanted to see her. To talk to her. To hear her voice.</p><p>So in his twisted mind, this was a way to kill two birds with one stone. Stefan would find out his friend was hurt and stop trying to start a war with Klaus. Then he would go to Caroline, heal her and perhaps they would even have a real conversation.</p><p>For the first time in a long time, Klaus Mikaelson felt excited to talk to someone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Happy Birthday Caroline</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The time from which a vampire died from a werewolf bite varies from person to person, but it normally killed them within a few hours. Without Klaus Michaelson's blood Caroline Forbes would be dead by morning. Tyler had come to Klaus's home that evening and begged him to cure her, believing he had accidentally bit her on his own accord. Klaus had of course, agreed. Stefan's punishment was over for now, and there was no way he was going to allow the girl to die.</p><p>Klaus walked up to the Forbes house at midnight. Tyler had given him the address, unaware Klaus already knew it from his research into his friends and family. He hadn't come, too ashamed of what he'd done to face her.</p><p>Klaus knew Caroline's mother was the town sheriff, and he was surprised a woman with such a prestigious career lived in such a quaint home.</p><p>He stepped up the porch and stood by the door. He didn't need to knock, Matthew Donovan, Caroline's ex-boyfriend was standing in the doorway. He stared at Klaus through the glass before slowly opening the door. His baby blue eyes staring at him with an intense hatred Klaus was used to seeing in people's eyes.</p><p>He began talking immediately before Matt pulled out the crossbow. It wouldn't kill him, but an arrow was an arrow. It still hurt. "Tyler came to see me. Poor boy, he seemed quiet distressed. He said Caroline had had a terrible accident."</p><p>"You made him do this to her," he said, looking at Klaus with a murderous glare. "He would have never done something like this."</p><p>"I am here to help, Matt," he said breathlessly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Liz appear in the hall, her fists clenched, her shoulders limp. She was clearly stressed, as anyone would be if their daughter was dying in the other room.</p><p>"My blood will heal her, please ask the sheriff to invite me inside."</p><p>"I know how this game works," Liz said, walking towards Klaus. "You want something in return."</p><p>He shook his head once, unsurprised by the accusation. It wasn't often he did anything for anyone without wanting something in return.</p><p>"Just your support," he said.</p><p>Liz stared at him for a moment. He had no doubt she was using her police eye, the eye that found guns hidden on suspects and watches hidden in shoplifter pockets, to survey him and figure out his intentions. He stared back, doing his best to look collected. He wasn't here to hurt anyone.</p><p>"Come in," she said finally.</p><p>Klaus felt the invisible hold of the door melt away and stepped into the house, glancing at Matt as he passed him by. He had one hand on his hip, no doubt on a stake or vervain, something to put him down should he attack. But he had no intentions of doing such a thing.</p><p>Liz stood at the end of the hall, arms crossed. She stared at Klaus as he approached, then indicated with her arm to the room to her right.</p><p>He stepped inside. It was a quaint room, like the rest of the house. Yellow walls, soft furniture, toys and drawings pinned to the walls, physical reminiscence of a happy childhood. Klaus had very few possessions from his childhood, it hadn't been a happy time and he didn't like to remember it. However he did keep one thing, a small carving of a knight atop a wooden horse. He'd made it for Rebekah to help her through the storms that kept her awake at night and it was one of the few sentimental possessions he took with him whenever he moved to a new place. Sometimes when his sister was daggered he'd take it out and look at it, as a way to remember her. As a way to remind himself why he was doing all of this.</p><p>And there she saw. Besides the vanity scattered with makeup and school books, Caroline Forbes was lying in bed snuggled up in a nest of blankets. She looked so young, so delicate and fragile. He was almost scared to reach out and touch her in case she broke. She didn't look like a vampire. She just looked like a girl.</p><p>There were two birthday cards on the bed next to her. Only two? Klaus was surprised to see that. Surely she was more popular than that.</p><p>Someone, Matt probably, closed the front door and the girls eyes flew open. Instantly they latched onto Klaus, but she did not flinch back, surprising Klaus himself.</p><p>"Are you going to kill me?" She asked. Her voice high and painful, like an injured rabbit.</p><p>"On your birthday?" He blurted out. Surely she was joking? "You really think that low of me?"</p><p>"Yes," she said. Her voice was bitter, full of hatred.</p><p>He breathed in, the smell of her blood and the werewolf venom floating up his nose. He moved towards her and gently pulled back the blanket from her shoulder. She grimaced at the movement of fabric against her delicate broken skin, but did not flinch back or draw away from his touch.</p><p>Klaus sighed, his eyes on the putrefied boiling bite mark.</p><p>"That looks bad," he said quietly, drawing his hand away. He swallowed. Was that guilt he felt deep down? Surely not. Klaus Mikaelson had not felt guilt about anything in… well, he couldn't remember.</p><p>"My apologies," he said softly. Yes it was guilt. He felt guilty. "You are what's known as collateral damage, it's nothing personal."</p><p>She glared up at him.</p><p>His eyes flicked to the bracelet around her wrist. A cheap thing, made of plastic. A pathetic gift from Tyler he assumed. Someone so beautiful shouldn't be wearing something so cheap. She deserved better.</p><p>He brushed his fingers against the trinket.</p><p>"I love birthdays," he said. Not his own. But other peoples, especially people younger than him. Seeing people celebrate their lives whilst they still enjoyed being alive, it was like watching zoo animals. Fascinating to someone who had long since stopped celebrating his own.</p><p>She took in a breath. "Yeah, aren't you like a billion or something?"</p><p>Despite the situation, Klaus couldn't help but smile. He had heard that many times before, and yet it somehow sounded funny coming from her lips.</p><p>"You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire Caroline," He said. "Celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial human conventions."</p><p>The smile faded from his lips, his eyes dropping to meet her face.</p><p>"You're free,"</p><p>"No," she croaked. "I'm dying." Her voice was hoarse and bitter, sad and unforgiving. She was giving up. She would be dead soon Klaus realised. An hour or so.</p><p>He wouldn't let that happen.</p><p>He moved to sit down on the bed next to her, gentle and slow. The bed creaked beneath his weight. It had been many moons since he'd felt the urge to take a girl into his arms and yet sitting her with her, looking so fragile and alone, all he wanted to do was lay down next to her, wrap his arms around her and make everything better.</p><p>He pushed that thought away. She would never allow him to touch her like that.</p><p>"And I could let you, die," he whispered. "If that's that you want." His eyes met her own. "If you really believe your existence has no meaning."</p><p>He swallowed. Suddenly he felt sad. A moment of vulnerability had come forward. He felt like he could tell her anything and everything and she would listen. That she wouldn't turn him away.</p><p>"I've thought about it myself," he admitted. "Once or twice over the centuries, truth be told."</p><p>His mind went back to those dark moments where he had thought about ending it all. They were brief, fleeting periods of his life, but they were dark times nonetheless.</p><p>He leaned in close. He could see her lips now. The bite marks were her fangs dug into her bottom lip. Lips that would never wrinkle. He wondered what it would be like to kiss them.</p><p>"But I'll let you in on a little secret," his eyes found hers. "There's a whole world out there waiting for you, great cities and art and music." His eyes went down to her bracelet. He could not stop thinking of it, of her, her beauty, how much she deserved something better. He touched it again, his eyes never leaving hers.</p><p>"Genuine beauty, and you can have all of it," and he would give it to her. He knew, if she asked, he would give her anything.</p><p>"You can have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask."</p><p>She twitched, swallowing back tears. She was shaking.</p><p>"I don't want to die," she pleaded.</p><p>He stared at her for a moment. There were many roads he could take here. He'd been in the situation many times before. He'd sat by the bedside of people he'd bitten and watched them rot to nothing. He'd sat by their side and laughed, and slept and once even cried. Yet now looking at her, he knew in his heart he would do whatever he could do keep her alive for as long as he lived.</p><p>He pulled back his sleeve, baring his pale skin to the light. Rather than shoving his arm into her mouth, he put his hand under her head and gently pulled her towards him. She didn't pull away, and settled against his hand under her neck.</p><p>She looked up at him, and she was waiting, he realised, for him to do something horrible. To smile and snap her neck, to throw her across the room, to pull her tongue out. No doubt one of the vicious stories she'd heard about the original hybrid (only half of which were true). But he had no intention of hurting her.</p><p>"There you go, have at it." He whispered.</p><p>Unable to bear the pain any longer she bit into his wrist. Her fangs broke the skin on his arm and blood began to seep from the wound into her mouth, flowing like water down her throat.</p><p>He closed his eyes, feeling the familiar bond of blood sharing. He'd done it only a few times in his long life. Blood sharing was intimate, personal. Even doing it here with her, he felt a connection he hadn't felt with many.</p><p>"Happy birthday, Caroline." He whispered.</p><p>After he cured Caroline her mother returned to sooth her. The girl leapt from his arms and into his mothers, not paying him another bit of attention. Matt was standing by the door and Klaus could smell the vervain in his pocket. Klaus nodded at him once and then sped out the door. His work here was done.</p><p>Or, it was supposed to be.</p><p>As he got home he could not stop thinking about that stupid plastic bracelets. It was either from Tyler or one of her other close friends. Considering how much they said they cared for her they could of at least have got her something comparable to her beauty. Even if they had to steal or it or compel it for free. That was no excuse for giving her such cheap tat.</p><p>Although his house was bigger and grander than the Forbes residents, it was lonely, quiet and cold. There had been workmen in the house all day, but even they needed to eat and rest so he'd compelled everyone to go home as soon as it got dark. Apart from his bedroom, most of the house was devoid of furniture and it felt lonely and empty. There were no people, not even an animal to keep himself company.</p><p>He made his way up to the attic, the only room beside his own that his hybrids were forbidden from trespassing into it. It was where he'd shifted what he'd come to know as his 'collection', an assortment of hundreds of priceless and sentimental objects he'd made, stolen, paid for and been given over the centuries. There were sentimental objects, a wood carving he'd made for a Rebekah as a child, a motorbike belonging to a dead friend that no longer run, an empty bottle of wine from a night in Paris.</p><p>And then amongst the tat, was the expensive, priceless items people would (and had tried to) murder him to poses. Dresses made by designers long dead, jewellery worth more than his entire house, rare paintings lost to history, diaries containing political secrets that would change the world. It was a treasure trove, and it was his.</p><p>He headed for the cabinet that held the jewellery at the back of the room. He rarely ever let anybody touch his collection, although Rebekah was allowed to borrow stuff, she always made sure to return it. Once she had lost a ring he had stolen from Tsarina Alexandra during the Russian Revolution, and he was still mad about it.</p><p>He dragged open a drawer, gazing down at the various jewels and bracelets, diamonds, sapphires, pearls, rubies and tiaras. There was jewellery as new as this year – a wedding ring he'd stolen when traveling with Stefan, to ancient artefacts, a set of clay earrings from ancient Egypt he'd stolen from a museum just because he could.</p><p>It took him far longer than he would like to admit to pick out a bracelet. He settled on a silver chain with embedded diamonds. Expensive and pretty. It would go really well with her blue eyes, her golden hair and creamy skin. Gold looked better on brunettes, and diamonds on blondes is what he had learned from wooing women over the centuries. Although he doubted Caroline looked bad in anything.</p><p>He wasn't doing this an attempt to upstage Tyler's pathetic attempt at a gift, although that was certainly part of it. He just thought she deserved better. She deserved more.</p><p>There were other gifts in the room. Shoes, rings, earrings, books – did she like books? And a dress. In the armoire tucked in the corner of the attic was a beautiful blue and silver dress. For a period of time Klaus had lived in a Dutch castle with a princess. She'd been gifted the dress for a ball. Klaus had seduced the princess out of the dress and then stolen it before she woke. He had intended the dress to be for Rebekah, but she'd rejected it, as she didn't like blue.</p><p>Klaus stopped by the armoire and slowly opened the door. He fingered the fabric of the dress, it was light and silky, a deep blue with flecks of gold. It would look beautiful on her.</p><p>He moved his hand away. Maybe another time.</p><p>As he returned to the Forbes home he remembered the touch of her skin on his, warm and soft, her hair light and fluffy against his chest, but most of all he remembered the touch of her lips on his skin. Her wondered what they would taste like against his mouth.</p><p>He closed his eyes. A part of him knew that Caroline would probably never be interested in him, because of his past transections with Elena and Tyler. That she would never want to kiss him. But the thought that he would never get to kiss her, that she would never want to kiss him was almost too painful to think about. He pushed the thought away before it teased his mind into insanity.</p><p>When he arrived back at the Forbes home, all was quiet. Matt Donovan had gone home, and Liz was asleep in her room.</p><p>He was quick. He went through the door and into Caroline's bedroom, placing the gift on her bedside table.</p><p>He stopped for a moment. Her arms were outstretched on the empty side of the bed, as if there was something supposed to be there. Tyler, probably. He cringed.</p><p>Reaching out he plucked a teddy bear, small, perhaps a childhood favourite, from the shelf on the wall and pushed it into her arms, careful to not wake her. He hope it would give her some comfort, should her dreams be particularly difficult.</p><p>He'd been classic with the wrapping of the bracelet. A black box, white bow. He thought of writing her a message. A confession, that he liked her and would like to get to really know her. For so long she'd been nothing but a girl he looked at the corner of his eyes, a girl he thought about at night when his bed was cold and lonely. He didn't think she'd appreciate those things right now. So he added a note card 'love Klaus' seemed a bit much, so he went with 'from Klaus'. He hoped she wouldn't find it to startling.</p><p>He looked back at her one more time, her sleeping form, so quiet and small, yet even with her mouth open and hair spread across the pillow she looked like an angel he'd only ever seen in his dreams.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Save me a dance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry, it's been a while, I got sucked into the Grishaverse. I'm working on a Darklina fanfiction if anyone here is a fan of them. Check out my tumblr for updates.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was 6am and Mikaelson manor was already mimicking the hum and bustle of a Saturday day night club opening. Klaus was used to waking up to silence. To echoed halls and the distant call of birds outside his window. He was not used to being thrust from his sleep by people screaming outside his bedroom door.</p><p>As he emerged from his room to see what the fuss was about Rebekah shoved him out the way, cussed loudly and locked herself in the bathroom.</p><p>He raised an eyebrow but knowing she was simply having another one of her tantrums he departed down the stairway to the kitchen.</p><p>In the kitchen, his mother was scolding Kol. From the fragments of conversation he bothered to listen to he learned that Kol had apparently gotten blood on the dress Rebekah had planned to wear to the ball tonight. Klaus glanced at his brother, who looked to be barely listening as he fixed his hair in the window above the sink.</p><p>Esther, taking on a modern mother role had set out a breakfast spread, featuring fluffy pancakes, rich French toast, fresh fruit, crispy bacon, runny eggs and warm waffles, as well as several pints of warm blood. Klaus grabbed a glass then grabbed his jacket and ducked out the door before she could ask where he was going. Just because she was his mother, didn't mean she could police his comings and goings.</p><p>He walked through town to the suburban street of Langs Road. A picturesque neighbourhood, he passed people out on their early morning jogs and old people walking dogs. He reached number 7, the hybrid house. Snuggled in-between two family homes, the residents always made sure to greet Klaus when they saw him. They even took in packages for the household when no one was home.</p><p>No one would suspect the two-story, white picket fence house would be the temporary home of a dozen bloodthirsty hybrids.</p><p>Inside he'd done the headcount to make sure nobody was dead, then sat down in his office with a glass of sherry to get the news. He sent half his hybrids out every night to patrol the town, to keep an eye on things, look out for anyone plotting against him and most importantly, make sure Elena Gilbert didn't die.</p><p>10 minutes later Klaus returned to Mikaelson manor, sped to the drawing-room where his family were gathered and slammed open the door. It cracked as it hit the wall.</p><p>"You went after Elena?" He towards his little sister. "What is wrong with you?"</p><p>Rebekah smiled from her place on the sofa. She wore a shirt dusted in gold. Across the room, his brothers had turned their attention to the drama.</p><p>"Here we go." She said. He hated the way she smiled as if it were a game. As if she hadn't tried to kill his one and only way to make hybrids that very morning.</p><p>"Do you want another dagger in your heart?" He hissed, his eyes bore into hers. He loved his sister, but she never listened.</p><p>"Again with the dagger threats," Kol chirped, butting his way into the conversation. "Don't you have any other tricks?"</p><p>Klaus looked back at him. "Oh go back to staring at yourself." He spat.</p><p>"And who are you, my father?" Kol asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>"No, Kol," Klaus grit his teeth and took a step closer to his brother. "But you're in my house."</p><p>Kol rose to meet him, anger slowly rising on his own face. The boy had never liked being told what to do. It was something they shared in common.</p><p>"Then perhaps we should go outside." He challenged. Klaus knew he couldn't kill him. But that didn't mean he couldn't torture him a little. The good thing about vampires was you could rip their eyes out, watch them grow back and then rip them out again.</p><p>But Klaus knew his siblings well. Torture, killing their partners, killing their friends, destroying their possessions. He had done it all, but nothing hurt more than eternal sleep. Nothing would upset Kol more than being shoved inside a coffin to suffer in darkness for another hundred years.</p><p>He could do it.</p><p>It would be so easy.</p><p>"Enough!"</p><p>Esther.</p><p>Having sauntered her way into the room she stood slightly above them on a raised platform, her hands on her delicate hips, looking very much like a teacher overseeing a group of naughty toddlers. "Niklaus. Come." She didn't wait for him to reply, turning her back to him she ducked into the music room next door.</p><p>Klaus looked at his little brother for a moment more, then dropped his eyes and followed his mother out the room.</p><p>"Rebekah wasn't even out of her box a day before she tried to ruin my life." He yelled, knowing he sounded like a child. "What happened to peace, acceptance, family?"</p><p>His mother turned to face him. He was not used to seeing her in such modern clothing and for a moment he was startled by her appearance. So young and youthful. She'd always been beautiful to him. In some ways, she'd been his first love.</p><p>She looked at him in disbelief. "You put daggers in their hearts. You want them to go down on their knees and kiss your feet for reuniting them?"</p><p>"So it's a crime to want our family to be as we were?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.</p><p>"You need to give it time, Niklaus. I've had a thousand years on the other side to be angry and to heal. I'm here to make sure this family does the same."</p><p>Klaus opened his mouth, paused, then shut it and shook his head slowly. Normally he was good at figuring people out, but she had always been a mystery. "I just don't understand. I killed you, and still, you forgive me."</p><p>When Klaus was a child he'd wondered why his mother stayed with their father, who beat them all whenever he felt like it. Now he wondered why she forgave him when he had killed her, killed her husband and locked her children in boxes.</p><p>Esther looked deep into his eyes. Her eyes. "It's been my dream for a thousand years that this family could be as one. Forgiveness is not a chore. It's a gift."</p><p>She smiled and it was the smile he'd given him when he was a boy. The smile that had soothed a thousand scraped knees and runny noses.</p><p>The conversation was over. She had given him the comfort of forgiveness. One day his siblings would learn that he did what he needed to do to keep them safe. One day they would forgive him and they would be a family again.</p><p>She smiled softly. "Now, who are you bringing to the ball this evening?"</p><p>He laughed, turning away. He was asking as if he were a teenage boy going to his first prom. And yet deep down, he already knew who he wanted to ask. There was only one girl he would ever consider asking.</p><p>But she would never say yes.</p><p>Would she?</p><p>"Don't be ridiculous," he raised his eyes to meet hers. "You're lucky I'm even going."</p><p>"Well, I wish you would reconsider," she said sincerely. Did she really want him to bring a date? Surely he must know the sort of person he was. He didn't have relationships. Women didn't last long with him. "It's going to be a magical evening."</p><p>There was a yell and a threat of violence from the dressing room. Rebekah was screaming something about Kol playing around with her dress and Elijah was trying to relax the situation. Finn's taunting that Rebekah shouldn't wear something so revealing was only making things worse.</p><p>His mother looked at him, sighed, gently rolled her eyes and ducked out the rooms to go deal with the kids.</p><p>He watched her go and then made his way past the piano and the violins and guitars he'd stolen from dead musicians, downstairs to his study.</p><p>His mother had been there that morning, filling out invitations with compelled servants. She had invited everyone in town, whether they knew them or not, whether they liked them or not, whether they had tried to kill Klaus or not, it didn't matter. They were coming.</p><p>He approached the mahogany desk in the centre of the room and pulled the box of invitations towards him. He found the F's, and then made his way through the names, searching for Forbes. Finally, he found it. Caroline Forbes. He pulled it out, with the gentleness he reserved for painting.</p><p>Klaus fell into the chair behind the desk and pulled the invite gently out of the unsealed envelope. It was the same standard formal invitation sent to everyone in town. Gold writing on cream card. He turned it over and grabbed a pen.</p><p>He paused, his pen hovering just above the paper.</p><p>What could he say?</p><p>"I would like for you to come."</p><p>No, that seemed too informal.</p><p>"Please-"</p><p>No. He didn't want to sound like a beg. Although he was, he realised. He was begging her to come.</p><p>He moved the envelope, flipping it over again.</p><p>He needed to write something sweet, enticing, charming. He needed to make her want to come, if not to see him, but to be curious why he would personally invite her.</p><p>He hovered the pen over the card, debating again what to write. It was several moments before he came to a decision, but inside it felt as if hours had passed by the time he thought of something to write.</p><p>"Save me a dance."</p><p>There. Charming, romantic, but not demanding, not begging. Asking. He was any other boy asking any other girl on a date.</p><p>He signed it Fondly Klaus then tucked it back into the envelope before he could change his mind.</p><p>He found himself smiling like an idiot as he stood up from the desk. He didn't notice just how happy he looked until he caught his reflection in a passing mirror.</p><p>He dropped the smile quickly.</p><p>It almost scared him how easily the very thought of this girl made his very heart flutter with happiness.</p><p>Klaus made his way back upstairs, intending to look through his collection of formal clothes to find something to wear to the ball. He wanted to look nice, in case she allowed him the pleasure of a dance.</p><p>At the top of the staircase, there were racks of dresses and accessories shoved against the wall. Klaus had allowed his mother and sister to borrow pieces from his private collection for the party. Rebekah had seemingly settled on a silky green number – not one of his. He peeped through into the dressing room where she was standing on top a platform, swirling her skirts as a seamstress made some alterations to the back of the dress.</p><p>Klaus turned back to the hall, about to duck into his room and change when a glint caught his eye. He backed away and turned his head. At the end of the last rail in the hall was a glint of dark blue fabric.</p><p>Klaus crossed the room to the dress. It had been in his collection for so long, loved only by him. It had belonged to a princess. Alexandra, he thought. Or maybe Margaret. Royalty all sort of muddled together after a while.</p><p>It was a beautiful thing, but the princess had only worn it once and then had given it away to Rebekah. She had never shown it the appreciation it deserved.</p><p>It was a shame really, to leave something so beautiful so untouched. And it would look beautiful on her. The blue would bring out her eyes, the silver would complement her dazzling smile</p><p>Before he could change his mind he took the dress from the stand. Downstairs in the basement, he took one of the gift boxes he usually reserved for shipping limbs of family members to people he was trying to blackmail. He neatly folded the dress, placed it inside the box, took it upstairs, found her invite, slipped it inside and told one the servants to deliver it to her.</p><p>As Klaus watched the delivery man walk out the front gate he wondered if he had made a mistake. But then he reminded himself the worst she could do was say no. If she said no, he would leave her alone. But if she came, if she wore the dress then… maybe he had a chance after all.</p>
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